Preconception Antidiabetic Drugs in Men and Birth Defects in Offspring
Authors: Maarten J. Wensink, Elisabeth R. Mathiesen, Rune Lindahl-Jacobsen, Michael L. Eisenberg
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2022)

LettersSeptember 2022Preconception Antidiabetic Drugs in Men and Birth Defects in OffspringMaarten J. Wensink, MD, PhD, Elisabeth R. Mathiesen, MD, Rune Lindahl-Jacobsen, PhD, Michael L. Eisenberg, MDMaarten J. Wensink, MD, PhDDepartment of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Biodemography, and Interdisciplinary Center on Population Dynamics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense C, DenmarkSearch for more papers by this author, Elisabeth R. Mathiesen, MDCentre for Pregnant Women with Diabetes, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, DenmarkSearch for more papers by this author, Rune Lindahl-Jacobsen, PhDDepartment of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Biodemography, and Interdisciplinary Center on Population Dynamics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense C, DenmarkSearch for more papers by this author, Michael L. Eisenberg, MDMale Reproductive Medicine and Surgery, Department of Urology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CaliforniaSearch for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/L22-0233 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail IN RESPONSE: Diabetes treated with metformin is associated with older age. However, in agreement with the references cited by Drs. Rossing and Gwilt, paternal age was not a risk factor for birth defects in our cohort (that is, all liveborn singletons in Denmark between 1997 and 2016). This is interpreted along with adjustment for maternal age in the same model, which progressively increases the frequency of birth defects in offspring of mothers older than 35 years. Our analyses were based on generalized additive models with cross-validation on the entire population, which all but excludes residual confounding by age.Metformin is ...References1. Broe A, Damkier P, Pottegård A, et al. Congenital malformations in Denmark: considerations for the use of Danish health care registries. Clin Epidemiol. 2020;12:1371-80. [PMID: 33364846] doi:10.2147/CLEP.S278596 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Niemuth NJ, Klaper RD. Emerging wastewater contaminant metformin causes intersex and reduced fecundity in fish. Chemosphere. 2015;135:38-45. [PMID: 25898388] doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.03.060 CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Maarten J. Wensink, MD, PhD; Elisabeth R. Mathiesen, MD; Rune Lindahl-Jacobsen, PhD; Michael L. Eisenberg, MDAffiliations: Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Biodemography, and Interdisciplinary Center on Population Dynamics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense C, DenmarkCentre for Pregnant Women with Diabetes, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen University, Copenhagen, DenmarkMale Reproductive Medicine and Surgery, Department of Urology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CaliforniaDisclosures: Disclosures can be viewed at www.acponline.org/authors/icmje/ConflictOfInterestForms.do?msNum=M21-4389. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoPreconception Antidiabetic Drugs in Men and Birth Defects in Offspring Maarten J. Wensink , Ying Lu , Lu Tian , Gary M. Shaw , Silvia Rizzi , Tina Kold Jensen , Elisabeth R. Mathiesen , Niels E. Skakkebæk , Rune Lindahl-Jacobsen , and Michael L. Eisenberg Preconception Antidiabetic Drugs in Men and Birth Defects in Offspring Peter Rossing and Michael Gwilt Metrics Cited byHypothesis: Metformin is a potential reproductive toxicant September 2022Volume 175, Issue 9Page: W107KeywordsCongenital disordersDiabetes mellitusDrugsInsulinSperm ePublished: 20 September 2022 Issue Published: September 2022 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2022 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...